A rich tapestry of arts, culture & humanities programs

Described as “refreshingly edgy” and a “fresh interdisciplinary concept” when it debuted in 2018  Momentum Festival returns in March & April 2019 to light up Kitsap County with an immersive program designed to stimulate your senses. Spotlighting the talents of artists, poets, musicians, composers, filmmakers, thespians, historians, social activists, and more, Momentum breaks the winter hibernation with this curated selection of more than two dozen events spanning concert, workshops, lecture, film and immersive arts experiences.

“We wanted to produce a festival of the unexpected, a lively program that mentally shakes off the winter and breathes in spring – with its inherent sense of discovery and emergence,” shared Sheila Hughes, Executive Director of BIMA. “This year’s Momentum features a wide array of formats, disciplines, perspectives, media and message, but they all share the ability to get audiences thinking – that’s our common thread.”

Momentum is a Community Impact Fund Project of BIMA, a new program that brings a wide variety of arts, cultural and humanities presentations to Kitsap County throughout the year, and strengthens the Museum’s deep commitment to our non-profit and cultural partners. Momentum is made possible by support from the City of Bainbridge Island Cultural Funding, Kitsap County and City of Bainbridge Island Lodging Tax and through partnership with Path with Art, PBS’s Craft in America, BARN, Bainbridge Island Observatory, Port Townsend Film Festival, Spacecraft, Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community, Robert Chinn Foundation, Bainbridge Island Historical Museum, Bloedel Reserve Creative Residency Program, Humanities WA, and inD Theatre, as well as countless individual artists and authors.

 

For a complete lineup and information on tickets, visit www.biartmuseum.org/momentum/.

 

MOMENTUM SCHEDULE:

 

March 2 & 3
DogEar: A Weekend Book Arts Festival Celebrating Artist’s Books, Printmaking & Paper Arts (Festival)
In partnership with PBS’s Craft in America, Path with Art, BARN

Saturday, March 2
Cultivating, Curating, & Encouraging A Book Arts Collection (Panel Discussion)

Thursday, March 7
Cielo (Film)
In collaboration with the Bainbridge Island Observatory

March 17
Jon Green & Friends in Concert (Music)

smARTfilms: Best of The Port Townsend Film Festival (Film)
In collaboration with the Port Townsend Film Festival
March 19 – WELCOME directed by Philippe Lioret
March 26 – BELLE AND SEBASTIAN directed by Nicolas Vanier
April 2 – PADDLE TO SEATTLE directed by JJ Kelly & Josh Thomas
April 9 – YELLOW IS FORBIDDEN directed by Pietra Brettkelly
April 16 – BALLETS RUSSES directed by Daniel Geller & Dayna Goldfine

March 22
Art After Dark (Teen-only Event)
In collaboration with Kitsap Regional Library

March 24
Spring Into Words: The Poetry of Keetje Kuipers, Erika Meither, and Geffrey Davis (Poetry)

March 29
Plastic Plate Engraving Workshop with Fred Hagstrom at BARN (Workshop)
In partnership with BARN

March 30
Within the Silence by Ken Mochizuki: A Living Voices Performance on the Japanese Exclusion (Presentation)
With support from Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community, and funded by the Robert Chinn Foundation

March 30
Sparks and Catalysts: Social Justice and the Role of Book Arts (Panel Discussion)

March 31
Art Talks: Fred Hagstrom (Lecture)

April 10
An Evening with Edward S. Curtis by Clay Jenkinson (Performance)
Presented by the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum A Historical Museum Fundraiser

April 13
Let’s Talk About Race with Clyde Ford (Lecture)
Presented by Humanities WA

April 14
Earthbound: Exposing Environmental Issues through the Artists Books (Panel Discussion)

April 20
A Dialogue with Nature: Artist Talk with ZZ Wei (Lecture)
in association with Bloedel Reserve Creative Residency Program

April 27
Superhero America: The Comic-Book Character as Historical Lens with T. Andrew Wahl (Lecture)
Presented by Humanities WA

April 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27 and 28
A Walk in the Woods by Lee Blessing (Performances)
Presented by inD Theatre

Been meaning to get to BIMA to see Alfredo Arreguín’s solo exhibition Life Patterns? Already seen it and can’t get enough? Originally scheduled to close on Sunday, February 3, BIMA is please to announce that Afredo’s show will be open an extra two weeks through Sunday, February 17.

If you haven’t seen this exhibition, don’t miss your chance to get lost in his intricately patterned paintings!

“While taking in one of Arreguín’s paintings, it’s easy to get lost in the details. His work is best viewed as if you’re on a stroll outdoors, when you have time to ponder and pause.” — Lisa Edge, Real Change

We are sad to learn of the passing of a Northwest Legend, photographer Mary Randlett. For decades, Randlett captured some of the most iconic landscape and portrait photography from the region. Born and raised in Seattle, Randlett graduated from Whitman College in Walla Walla followed by an apprenticeship with Hans Jorgensen.

As a documentarian of the Northwest School of artists, Randlett captured portraits of notable artists including Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, Guy Anderson, and Jacob Lawrence, as well as writers and poets Theodore Roethke and Tom Robbins among others.

Randlett’s mysterious nature photography focused on the unique landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. Her expansive photographs of water and land formations are rich in energy, contrast and reverence for the region’s beauty. Of particular note to local audiences, Randlett documented many areas of Bainbridge Island, including the early years of the gardens at Bloedel Reserve.

Her photographs are held in more than forty permanent collections nationally including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, Seattle Art Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington and numerous others including Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA). Her work is included in BIMA’s Permanent Art Collection — four nature photographs are currently on view in BIMA’s 1st Floor Exhibition. Randlett’s work was also included in BIMA’s inaugural exhibition First Light in summer 2013, and in Women in Photography in summer 2017.

Her work has appeared in more than 175 books and catalogs and she received numerous awards including the Washington State Governor’s Art Award and Anne Gould Hauberg Artist Images Award.

The Northwest art scene has lost a legend.

“My life is my work; my work is my life.” — M. Randlett

BIMA is proud to announce that it is the recipient of a grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust of Vancouver, Washington, to support the further development of the Museum’s cultural programming. The Murdock Charitable Trust is a highly competitive grant offered to nonprofits in a five-state region of the Pacific Northwest: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The Trust has been a true game-changer in the region since its establishment in 1975; more than $900 million has been distributed through more than 6,000 grants.

“Wow! We couldn’t be happier,” said Sheila Hughes, the Executive Director for BIMA. “The timing of this grant — right at the end of our fifth anniversary — goes such a long way to validate everything we have worked so hard to accomplish.”

BIMA received the Murdock Trust grant to support its burgeoning cultural program, specifically to provide over $150,000 over three years in seed-funding for a new Cultural Impact Initiative, including the creation of a new position—Cultural Programs Manager. This new position will oversee the thoughtful and continued development and expansion of the organization’s diverse and lively showcase of arts, cultural and humanities programs.

BIMA’s robust year-round calendar of events is designed to complement and enrich the museum’s top-notch exhibitions and education programs. Along with BIMA’s free admission and welcoming ambiance, its combination of offerings has become a key component to the museum’s recent success in establishing itself as the “cultural living room” of the West Sound and a top regional cultural destination.

The Murdock Trust Grant award, in concert with the encouragement and support of other donors and supporters, is the first step in the creation of a larger Cultural Impact Initiative.

“The stars have aligned for BIMA to be a huge resource to the greater Kitsap community and beyond—and we’re completely committed to making that happen,” said Hughes. “Considering that we’re located at the crossroads of King and Kitsap County, our excellent exhibitions have already made BIMA an established destination for cultural tourism by visitors from around the globe—over 100,000 in 2018. And because of the generosity of its early supporters, BIMA has a world-class facility with gallery, classroom, meeting, workshop and Auditorium space. Our goal is to be in further service to the region—by lighting up this space with the most interesting, exciting and culturally adventurous program of arts, humanities and cultural events that we can create.”

Jesse Ziebart has joined BIMA’s team as the new Cultural Programs Manager. Jesse’s experience includes arts programming, event coordination, hospitality, television production and sponsorship. After fifteen years in various aspects of programming and producing, Jesse is excited to return to her hometown of Bainbridge Island.

“I am honored to join the BIMA family and to have the opportunity to give back to the artistic community that has shaped so many of us who grew up here,” Ziebart said. “Everyone wins with a Cultural Impact Initiative like this—residents receive more access to world-class arts and humanities programs, artists are supported and spotlighted, even our local economy gets a boost when visitors come attend things like music, theater and film. I am so thankful the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust has chosen to fund programs like these. It will be exciting to see cultural programs at the museum continue to grow!”

In its short five years of service, BIMA has already developed a reputation for lively community events like the Museum’s annual Dia de los Muertos celebration and Black History Month festivities, which draw large regional crowds, while on-going programs like the Tuesday night smARTfilm series, summer Inspired Chef dinner series and quarterly Pop-Up Art & Craft Fair draws a regular local following of engaged arts-lovers. Newer programs like the Within/Earshot Jazz Festival, Momentum Festival, Frank Buxton Silent Film Festival, and DogEar are drawing sell-out crowds and establishing the museum as a go-to destination for first-class cultural activities.

For more information on BIMA’s programs, visit BIMA’s calendar.

About M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust:

M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust was created by the will of the late Melvin J. (Jack) Murdock, who was a co-founder of Tektronix, Inc. in Beaverton, Oregon, and a resident of Vancouver, Washington. Since its establishment on June 30, 1975, with a bequest of about $90 million, the Trust has focused its grantmaking efforts primarily in five states of the Pacific Northwest: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The Trust’s current assets are valued at about $1 billion, and over the life of the Trust, more than $900 million has been distributed through more than 6,000 grants.

The Trust’s mission is to enrich the quality of life in the Pacific Northwest by providing grants to organizations that seek to strengthen the region’s educational, social, cultural, and spiritual base in creative and sustainable ways. Grants are awarded to a wide variety of organizations, including those that serve the arts, public affairs, education, scientific research, health and medicine, human services, and people with disabilities.

The Trust’s staff brings a wide range of experiences in the subject areas and activities necessary for thoughtful grantmaking and the investment of Trust assets. In addition to grantmaking activities, it is common Trust practice to convene groups of people to discuss issues of mutual interest. This practice is of great assistance to the Trust in exploring ways of responding to new grantmaking opportunities consistent with its mission, promoting a sharing of ideas and networking among participants, and understanding new developments and best practices in the various sectors in which the Trust works.

BIMA is delighted to announce that community activist and philanthropist—and founding Board Member—Steve Davis has accepted the role of Honorary Chair for BIMA Bash! 2019. The June event, comprised of two nights of parties and auctions, is the Museum’s largest fundraiser of the year—accountable for more than a third of the organization’s annual operating budget. Tickets go on sale in April at www.bimabash.com.

Steve is near and dear to BIMA. He is one of a handful of individuals who joined the founding Board of Directors at the request of Museum Founder, Cynthia Sears. Recently retired from the board after serving the maximum of three terms (9 years), Steve was instrumental in the Museum’s original capital campaign, construction, launch, and has served weekly shifts as a docent since the Museum’s opening in June 2013. While on the board, Steve acted as Treasurer and served on the Building & Grounds, Finance and Fundraising Committees.

A Bainbridge Island resident since 1942, Steve is a graduate of Bainbridge High School. Throughout his career in Trust Management and on into retirement, Mr. Davis has been a dedicated patron of the arts and supporter of his community. He has served on the boards of Bainbridge Community Foundation (Founder and 1st President), One Call For All, Bainbridge Diversion Board, Helpline House Endowment Fund Committee, Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, Health, Housing, and Human Services Council of Bainbridge Island, Bloedel Reserve, Island Volunteer Caregivers, and Seattle Aquarium as well as a number of other organizations in the region. One of his most visible contributions to Bainbridge Island is The Waypoint—directly across from BIMA—that reclaimed a former gas station site and replaced it with a pocket park that greets everyone who arrives to Bainbridge Island by ferry.

Planning for BIMA Bash! 2019 is well underway. The lively Friday, June 14 party and silent auction features more than 100 one-of-a-kind art pieces including paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, photography, jewelry, plus travel and culinary expenses at all price ranges. The Saturday, June 15 event includes a short silent auction and social hour followed by a seated dinner and live auction. Both events support Bainbridge Island Museum of Art’s mission and ongoing programs, including free admission to the galleries and subsidized field trips for regional students.

More information on the event, including highlights from the 2018 fundraiser, can be found at www.bimabash.com. Information for the 2019 event will be available in March.

 

If you’ve been by the Museum recently, you will absolutely have spotted Patty Grazini’s eye-catching paper sculpture, Elizabeth Lyska, Giantess, in the BIMA@5 exhibition. For Spring 2019, Patty’s work will be featured in her first solo art museum exhibition entitled Forms of Devotion.

We wanted to give you a special preview into this exciting exhibition with a short question and answer session with the artist herself!

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What would you want a museum visitor to know about your work?

In many ways, I’d like for my work to speak for itself. Ideally, a visitor would be able to look at the artwork and be transported to another time and place. When I’m making my artwork, I spend a lot of time imagining and creating backstories about each piece. For certain series, I do a lot of researching about the different time period that I’m trying to evoke in the artwork. Not all of this will be apparent to the visitor, but I’d like for them to be able to see beyond the details in each piece and have a deeper experience with the artwork.

 

What do you find interesting, inspiring, or special about working with paper?

I like working with aged papers that have a history of their own. Paper, in general, is something disposable to most people. I like thinking about how to reuse paper in completely different contexts, using each different paper as a reference point back to the artwork. My most recent series using old uncirculated money was especially fun to use in this way.

 

What kind of research do you do when creating a piece?

The series that I did the most research for was probably the criminals and misfits. I researched the New York Times online archives, concentrating on the period between 1875 and 1915 looking for possible subjects. I found many more people that I wanted to profile, but tried to select a range of crimes, always leaning toward the portrayal of the more unusual person or crime. Whenever my work focuses on a particular time and place, I try to learn as much a possible. I listen to podcasts, watch videos and read a lot, basically anything that will put me in the mood of a particular time period.  The more I research, the better I am able to evoke the mood of that time and place. For every hundred things I learn about each subject, maybe one single detail makes it into the artwork itself—but that’s part of the fun of it for me.

 

Tell us about the particular techniques you use. How did you learn them and when did start using them?

I’m self-taught as a paper artist, but I have a background in making clothing and wearable art. Some of the construction techniques in sewing and garment construction have helped me think about how to apply these to paper. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with natural dyes and really want to explore that more. I think it gives the paper more versatility and naturalness. Another challenge I’ve also confronted is finding ways to make paper look like other materials—like fabric, bark, fur, and all sorts of things. I love this challenge in particular: there’s something a little magical in the act of transforming paper into something completely different. Over the years, I’ve developed more involved ways of achieving this effect. A lot of what I do is intuitive, and comes from years of practice: trying different things, and seeing what works. Often people ask me how I do what I do—it’s something I’ve always had trouble answering, because my techniques have slowly evolved, and it’s been a long process of figuring things out one step at a time.

 

How has your artistic process changed over time?

My work has become more detailed over the years. I spend a lot of time thinking about different methods: like making different types of folds, embossments, and ways of assembling the artworks. The differences are subtle, but to me, keeping the work fresh and interesting, involves making these small adjustments, and always pushing myself to try new things and improve my methods.

 

What memorable responses have you had to your work?

I have had people tell me that they have returned more than once to a show because they were unable to see all the details the first time. People often respond with astonishment and ask if everything is really made out of paper. I like thinking I might have fooled someone into asking me that.

 

In your daily life, what do you find inspiring?

Traveling, and imaginary time traveling. I like going to museums of all types— I especially love viewing museums within historic homes, where the artworks are displayed among other objects and relics from the time period. These places that combine history and biography are really inspiring to me.

 

What are you most looking forward to from your upcoming show at BIMA?

It’ll be exciting to see all of my work from different periods all together in one group.

 

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Be sure to mark your calendars for Patty Grazini’s upcoming exhibition Forms of Devotion open March 9 through June 9, 2019.

 

Photo by M. Sawyer Photography

The award-winning Real Change weekly newspaper provides immediate employment opportunity and takes action for economic, social, and racial justice. BIMA is proud to be regularly covered in this special publication that values a just, caring and inclusive community, where people are no longer marginalized by racism and classism and have the means to live with dignity.

Lisa Edge just reviewed BIMA’s Alfredo Arreguín exhibition:
Life Patterns: Bainbridge Island Museum of Art celebrates artist Alfredo Arreguín

All children benefit from being exposed to art.

Providing accessible art experiences for all is at the core of BIMA’s mission. We are proud to offer FREE field trips to the art museum to students from across the Puget Sound region. Just this past year, we welcomed more than 2,100 students in our door on over 90 field trips. For many students, this is their first visit to a museum in their lives.

This #GivingTuesday, we invite you to help us grow our Field Trip Program with a gift of just $10.

MAKE A GIFT OF $10 TODAY

If 30 people donate just $10, we can fund a FREE field trip for an entire class of students, including an in-classroom pre-visit, transportation to the museum, and supplies for all the students.

#GivingTuesday is your opportunity to give a gift that has a lasting impact, helping to shape the minds and hearts of today’s youth into tomorrow’s compassionate leaders.

Will you give art the power to make a difference in thousands of children’s lives?

BIMA invites learners of all ages to explore the power of contemporary art and craft through creative expression, active engagement, and inclusive dialogue.

Throughout the year, BIMA offers a wide variety of programs and educational experiences to connect you to the people, arts, and culture of the Puget Sound region. Whether you are attending a lecture, trying your hand at a new technique in a workshop, or just dropping into a gallery program, there are options for nearly every age and ability level.

The ArtsGrowth Initiative, which encompasses all of BIMA’s educational offerings, was born from our commitment to providing equitable access to arts and culture in our region. Our diverse array of programs, most of which are offered low-cost or free of charge, invite public audiences into the museum to discover together the relevance of art in our lives and in our communities.

The cornerstone of this work is our partnerships with K-12 schools in Kitsap County and beyond to offer field trips and educator professional development opportunities that use art as a catalyst for developing creativity and critical thinking skills. Aligned with State and Common Core Standards, these programs complement and support classroom curriculum.

Outside of school, youth engage at BIMA through summer camps, explore hands-on Art in Action activities with their families, and attend Art After Dark, an annual teens-only after hours party, hosted by BIMA’s Teen Arts Council.

For adults interested in developing their own artistic skills, we offer weekly figure drawing classes as well as monthly workshops in a variety of media. Lectures, talks, and artists’ demonstrations provide opportunities to delve deeper into art and ideas behind to BIMA’s exhibitions and collections.

At BIMA, art is an essential component of healthy aging. Weekly mindfulness meditations are designed to support pain reduction and overall wellness. Look Again and Meet Me at the Movies offer opportunities for people experiencing early-stage memory loss and their care partners to engage together through art.

When it comes to reflections of gratitude here at BIMA, where do we start?  With our amazing team of docents & volunteers – the more than 150 creative and interesting individuals who give their time and talent to keep this museum humming? With the rich regional tapestry of artists whose work graces the galleries? With the community who lights up this gathering space every day with conversation and conviviality? BIMA is the recipient of so much love and support, expressed in so many different ways, it’s often difficult to comprehend or express.

If you are receiving this Thanksgiving note, you are one of those givers, someone who makes a difference. And if you’re wondering how you make that difference, I have a quick story to share.

This summer, completely outside the world of BIMA, I was volunteering in Seattle on an art project that involved working with a group of thirty homeless and low-income women. When one woman learned that I worked at BIMA, she just lit up and said that she loves this museum and visits regularly. She was quickly joined by others, who told me about how wonderful it is to be invited into such a warm, welcoming space. One woman said she likes to come by herself and walk through the galleries quietly, while others told me that they come as a big, social group. As I was leaving, several women squeezed my arm and said thank you for having this beautiful place, free and accessible to everyone.

Those words were spoken to me, but they are meant for you. Thank you for creating a home for inspirational exhibitions and year-round cultural programs, for making this a special place for all, for supporting a gathering place that encourages ideas and conversation. None of this is possible without you.

Your support brings art to life for thousands of visitors from all walks of life every year, and all of us at BIMA are thankful to be part of the world you make possible.

THANK YOU!

 

Sheila Hughes
Executive Director